America's future is in our own hands

Hal Lindsey is the best-selling non-fiction writer alive today. Among his 20 books are "Late Great Planet Earth," his follow-up on that explosive best-seller, "Planet Earth: The Final Chapter" and "Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad."

As a “Watchman on the Wall,” I believe Election 2008 will permanently determine the future path America will take. I fear that most Americans do not understand the true issues they are voting on.

Among other things, this election may determine whether the government will be empowered to forcefully take money earned by some Americans and redistribute it as it chooses to others.

As I have taught before for 50 years, there are certain divine institutions God set forth in the Bible. They are intended for the good and welfare of all mankind. To whatever degree a people honors these institutions, they will be blessed, preserved and prospered.

First, the institutions of freedom to choose one’s own destiny and the “sanctity of life” – these were enshrined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We are given by God, not our government, the freedom to choose our own destiny and to pursue a career that brings prosperity and happiness. Our forefathers knew only too well that a government that is powerful enough to confiscate and redistribute wealth is also strong enough to take away your freedom to choose and pursue happiness.

Thomas Jefferson clearly warned us about this: “Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have.” In this election, we are making a choice – either continue to pursue our own destiny and well-being, or give the government the power to establish a “welfare state” in which it slowly takes over our basic freedoms.

James Madison, considered the father of our Constitution, wrote, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” John Adams also spoke along these lines, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. … Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

As you prepare to vote, remember what made this country great and what has kept God’s protection over her. Another Founding Father and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush, summed it up well:

“By removing the Bible from schools we would be wasting so much time and money in punishing criminals. … Take the Bible out of our schools and there would be an explosion in crime.”

Look at what’s happening in our country today. We have driven God and the Bible out of our schools. Now, we don’t have enough jails to hold the criminals. We kill our children by the millions through abortion. There are those standing in this election who favor the right to destroy babies born ALIVE during an abortion. So much for the sanctity of life!

Some call ours a “negative constitution” since its authors devoted more effort to “limiting government” than they did to “empowering” it. The Bible does not teach that governments should have the authority to seize the fruits of one’s labor and give it to others. It encourages us in every way to voluntarily give to the poor and give them a hand up, not a hand out.

The great patriot Patrick Henry warned of this when he said, “Now what liberty can there be where property is taken away without consent?” There is another issue in this election that will be decided directly in some states through ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments.

On the national level, it will be influenced by the beliefs and promises of the next president. Society’s sanction of homosexual marriage presents a direct attack on the divine institution of marriage. The Bible teaches that God created woman to be a “compatible companion” and “intimate mate” for man. Woman’s very physiology shows that she was created physically to correspond to man in an intimate sexual relation that would result in perpetuation of the human race.

This election – at both the state and federal levels – will determine the path America takes. We will choose either to sustain that institution or abandon it. Of course, marriage is critical to the health of the family, which is the most basic foundation of society.

In whatever society you find strong families, you will find a strong nation. It’s there that children are to be trained in love, honesty, integrity, honor and self-control. When this duty is sabotaged by ungodly unions or is assumed by the government, the society begins to fall apart. Both of these threats to the family are emerging in America. We destroy God’s institutions at our peril.

As conscientious citizens and Christians, we need to vote for those candidates who most aspire to biblical family values. And we need to vote for those initiatives and amendments that reflect God’s intent for our society. I challenge you to vote. Do not be influenced by tricky polls designed to discourage you from voting. And when you vote, vote your conscience and your values.

You owe it to God and our forefathers who sacrificed to give us this freedom to VOTE. God can only use your vote if you cast your vote. Take the time to study the sample ballot and weigh the issues against biblical principles. Weigh the character of the candidates. Heed the exhortations of the godly Founding Fathers of our great country.

Patrick Henry wisely said, “Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom.” Godly morality is important.

Thomas Jefferson also advised, “A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of the laborer the bread he has earned. This is the sum of good government. …” Government must not be put in the place of God. At best, it is created to enable each citizen to pursue his or her own destiny. By all means, pray for God’s guidance and vote your conscience.

This election may determine our country’s continued blessing or its decline. May God bless America.